A Sort Of Prologue
by iamthelie
Summary: Second Season AU look at what could have been. Woody Jordan pairing.
1. Good Morning Sunshine

**A Sort of Prologue**  
******Chapter One: Good Morning Sunshine  
**Rating: PG (as of now)  
**Word Count:** 623  
**Disclaimer:** I own Crossing Jordan. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except my own insanity. I can't even claim to own DVDs for Crossing Jordan. Though I am hoping to soon.  
**Summary:** An glimpse of what could have been.  
**Pairing: **Woody/Jordan  
**Author's Note: **Ok, I know I haven't updated Soulless. In my defense, this is an old story that was supposed to be more (could be more someday but don't hold your breath) that I've had sitting around and tonight decided to clean up and post. This is just short and sweet (too sweet?) as it was just setting ground work for a massively involved AU/Crossover that I haven't started.

* * *

**Good Morning Sunshine**

He woke up smiling, the fragrance of her hair tickling his nose. He refused to open his eyes, to let daylight and reality come in. He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, unwilling to let her go.

He knew she'd leave. She'd probably panic and run the minute her eyes opened. It wasn't like he hadn't been warned—by the department, by Max, by almost anyone who knew her. She had a reputation. She was more than that, better than she gave herself credit for, and he'd always believed that. It was just hard to believe this moment would last. She hadn't wanted more than a kiss from him, just friendship, but one for the road had become two, then three...

This was more than a kiss, but less than a commitment. He loved her, probably always would, but the most he could say for certain about her feelings was that she _liked_ him. He groaned softly and kissed her neck. This might be all he had. He was going to enjoy this, commit every detail to memory.

"You're awake," she whispered.

He debated denying it. Maybe he'd get a few more minutes. But she turned around in his arms and kissed him full on the mouth. His eyes opened, and his arms tightened around her.

"You don't worry about morning breath?" he asked, curious and yet trying to avoid the elephant in the room. _Don't make me go, Jordan. Please. Let me stay. Let me stay forever._

She laughed. "Well, it's never really been an issue before now."

He frowned. "So, it's bad?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, most men have seen the door by now."

"You overslept today?" he teased, trying to keep the mood light even though he dreaded what was to come. _Here it comes, the "you should go" line._

"Oh, Farm Boy," she began, but he could tell he'd said the wrong thing. She was close to crying, as close as Jordan would let herself be.

"Hey," he said, touching her face. "I'm sorry, Jordan."

"Why?"

"For whatever I did. I just—I didn't want you to tell me to go. I know you didn't want to take things this far... I don't regret last night. I wish you didn't—wish every night could be like last night. I love you, Jordan. I—"

She put a finger to his lips. "You've been listening to too many rumors, Woody. You're so simple and sweet... I was trying to tell you—maybe I was _too_ subtle—that you were different."

He looked at her, confused. She'd thrown him for a loop. She rolled her eyes. "I don't want you to go, Woody. I...I am kind of frightened by all this, but... Hell, why don't we change our layover in Kansas to one in Vegas?"

He blinked. A few minutes ago, he'd been afraid of her kicking him out, and now... "Did you just propose?"

"Ahha. Now who's afraid of commitment?"

"And if I call your bluff, Jordan?"

She looked directly into his eyes. "Double or nothing."

It wasn't the most romantic proposal in the world, wasn't the traditional one with flowers and dinner and a ring that he'd always planned on making, but Jordan wasn't that type of girl. This damaged, emotionally fragile woman had offered herself to him. He wasn't about to walk away from that. "We're not getting married by Elvis. Or a new age...whatever. Or... I don't even know why I'm protesting. I love you. I'll take you anyway I can."

"I've always wanted to get married by Elvis..." Jordan said wistfully.

Knowing she was teasing him, he shook his head and kissed her.

"Uh, Woody, do me a favor? Brush your teeth."


	2. From That Moment

**A Sort of Prologue**  
******Chapter Two: From That Moment  
**Rating: PG (as of now)  
**Word Count:** 1193  
**Disclaimer:** I own Crossing Jordan. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except my own insanity. I can't even claim to own DVDs for Crossing Jordan. Though I am hoping to soon.  
**Summary:** An glimpse of what could have been.  
**Pairing: **Woody/Jordan  
**Author's Note: **Ok, I know I haven't updated Soulless. In my defense, this is an old story that was supposed to be more (could be more someday but don't hold your breath) that I've had sitting around and tonight decided to clean up and post. This is just short and sweet (too sweet?) as it was just setting ground work for a massively involved AU/Crossover that I haven't started.

Oh, and this isn't all of it, either. I'm still doing some editing... Maybe more tomorrow.

* * *

**From That Moment**

She'd rather expected to be eating crow right about now. She was supposed to be regretting her impulsive words to Woody, but she was enjoying their whirlwind courtship. He'd bankrupted himself on the ring; she'd bankrupted herself on her dress. She wanted a decent one, even for a Vegas wedding, and the whole city of Vegas screamed tacky. But she found one and they chose an almost respectable all night chapel—Woody reminded her that everyone would not only be angered by missing the wedding but by the circumstances of it—and she found herself agreeing to a second ceremony, at least in theory.

It wouldn't be _that_ hard. The hard part was over. She'd already married him.

Okay, _that_ was weird to say.

All along she had been waiting for the need to run, to escape, to hit her, but it never did. She walked calmly up the short aisle to the handsome man at the end, not missing the relief in his smile. She offered him her hand; he squeezed it. It was nice to know he was just as nervous as she was.

She'd thought she'd run before she said, "I do." Instead, she said it so forcefully that she startled the justice of peace and made Woody laugh. He hadn't really recovered before he was told to kiss the bride.

Somehow, she still found it a perfect wedding, even if they did miss their flight and the next five as they used the overnight stay included in their wedding package. Their wedding night was perfect.

She was still waiting for the first fight, for the hardships. She didn't know if she would weather the storm or run. She told herself not to worry, to take it as it came, which seemed to be working. She just hoped that it _continued_ to work.

"I just noticed something," Woody commented, causing her to look over from the plane window. He had the marriage license out again.

She smiled. "Is it that surprising that I took your name?"

"Without a hyphen? Yes."

"There _are_ traditional values in me, Farm Boy. Besides, I wanted to see that smile again."

Woody shook his head. "Jordan, I've been smiling like an idiot all day."

"So, I like my apartment better than yours," she began.

"Uh, okay," he agreed slowly. "Where did that come from?"

"I was thinking practically." She laughed at his incredulous look. She knew it wasn't something she was known for, not being practical. Still, she knew what she wanted. "We are..."

"Married?" Woody finished wryly.

"Right. So...We need to live together. I'm saying I'd like to live in my apartment."

"Okay." He looked at her. "What?"

She shrugged. It didn't exactly make sense, but she felt disappointed. "It was too easy."

"Don't go looking for problems or fights, Jordan," Woody advised softly. "They'll find us."

* * *

"You're late," Garret observed when Jordan walked into the morgue.

She shrugged. "It's Woody's fault. He told me he had transportation from the airport, but he forgot to mention that was before our flight got changed."

Garret looked at her. "You told me three days ago that Woody's case was wrapped up, and you'd be back yesterday."

"Did I? Well, you know, plans..." she shrugged again. Lily came to the front with some paperwork.

"Jordan!" Lily cried and hugged her. "You're back!"

"Yes, I'm back. Are you all right, Lily?"

"Jordan, I... We were afraid that you ran," Lily confessed. She looked at Garret guiltily.

"You hired someone new? I'm a day late. Great. My credit card's maxed out. I hope Woody has something..." Jordan dug out her cell phone and hit the speed dial. As she put it to her ear, someone snatched her hand.

"Oh, ho, love, what's this?" Nigel demanded.

She shut the phone. "Uh, that..."

"Oh, my god, Jordan," Lily breathed. "It's beautiful."

"Two bands," Nigel observed. "That's a _wedding_ ring."

"Yes. It is, and I'd love to talk about that, but you have work to do and I guess I don't—"

"Jordan, my office. Now." Garret ordered. Jordan nodded and followed him into his office. She didn't envy Woody. His boss would probably be furious. She could handle Garret.

"Let me be straight with you, Jordan. I'm not sure anyone should be congratulating you right now."

"Ouch. Well, you never pulled your punches. This shouldn't be any different." She took a deep breath. "Look, Garret, this isn't a prank, a joke, or a bet. I'm married. For better or worse, richer or poorer... I may have jumped a few steps, but I'm sure going to try to make it work. And I'd really like some support."

Garret sighed. "Jordan, do you love him? Because just about everyone knows he's in love with you. If you don't feel the same about him..."

"I do. I love him. It's insane, but after that lunatic kidnapped him, I knew I didn't want anything to happen to him. I also knew that he needs me, and I _like_ to be needed. He loves me, believes in me... I'm scared as hell that it will end, that I'll screw up. But for once, I was willing to take the chance."

Garret smiled. "Then I'm happy for you. Now go out there and enjoy the party."

Jordan smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Garret."

She walked out and found Woody surrounded by the rest of the staff. Some were cheering, some asking questions. Woody looked frazzled. She smiled. "Farm Boy."

"Jordan." He broke free and wrapped his arms around her. "I just saw your father. And somehow the entire department knows. I've been harassed, congratulated, given a medal, told I'm whipped, three women said to come to them if we had problems, a pool was started to see how long we stay together, and—"

"Woody, breathe," she told him. "It's just new. Remember how everyone was with Dr. Lisa?"

"Not my best hour, Jordan." Woody said softly. He lowered his head onto her shoulder and hugged her again.

"All right, Farm Boy, you're scaring me. What did Dad do? You're not...injured?"

"No. Jordan, everyone is asking..." Woody took a deep breath. "They want to know when you're due and if I'm sure I'm the father."

"What?" Jordan demanded.

"But your father said it was about damn time and drinks were on him tonight at the Pogue." Woody smiled at her. "Unless you'd rather be alone tonight?"

She shook her head. "Nah. Let's celebrate."

"I'll meet you there, then." He kissed her. "I might be a little late. I picked up a traffic fatality earlier that is either an accident, suicide, or murder."

"Ooh, what—"

"Jordan, my captain...and Walcott and a few others have made it clear to me that we can no longer work cases together," Woody told her.

"Oh." She hadn't realized that she'd be unable to work with him. It made sense, but she was going miss it—a lot.

"But unless I'm specifically directed not to, I _can_ discuss them with you," he added quickly. "So later. After the Pogue. And I love you."

"I love you, too," she said, kissing him goodbye.


	3. Days in the Life

**A Sort of Prologue**  
******Chapter Three: Days in the Life  
**Rating: PG (as of now)  
**Word Count:** 961  
**Disclaimer:** I own Crossing Jordan. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except my own insanity. I can't even claim to own DVDs for Crossing Jordan. Though I am hoping to soon.  
**Summary:** An glimpse of what could have been.  
**Pairing: **Woody/Jordan  
**Author's Note: **Ok, I know I (still) haven't updated Soulless. In my defense, this is an old story that was supposed to be more (could be more someday but don't hold your breath) that I've had sitting around and last night decided to clean up and post. This is just short and sweet (too sweet?) as it was just setting ground work for a massively involved AU/Crossover that I haven't started.

These are just snippets of newlyweds Woody and Jordan coping with the episodic events post marriage. Pure fluff, I guess.

* * *

**Days in the Life**

"He _lied_ to me."

"I know, Jordan. I know," Woody whispered, kissing her forehead. He wrapped his arms around her, tighter, and just held on. He'd been afraid to let go. He could have lost her tonight, and he might never have known why. Jordan certainly didn't know the whole truth.

"I have a _brother_," she whispered. "Why didn't he tell me? Maybe not when I was younger, but I'm an adult. I can handle this."

"This is handling it?" Woody teased, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Jordan, I think Max thought he was protecting you."

"From the truth?"

"I never said I agreed with him," Woody corrected. "You're a big girl. You deserve to know. Maybe if he'd been honest with you, you wouldn't run off chasing the truth."

"You'll never lie to me, will you?" she asked in a small voice.

He looked at her. "Uh, Jordan, there are some things I need to tell you..."

"Don't tell me _you're_ my brother."

He winced. "No, but there are details... Things I left out when I told you about leaving Kewanee."

"Did you kill anyone?" she asked. He shook his head. "Give away any babies? Father any?"

He felt himself getting red. "Nnnoo..."

"Then it will keep," Jordan said quietly. She reached up to touch his cheek. "I have a hard time believing you could hurt me, Woody. You, what you might have done, it's so different from my father and the lies I've been told."

"We all have secrets," he whispered, kissing her forehead. She drew his lips to hers, and he forgot his secrets for a while.

* * *

_I could do this;_ Jordan was surprised to find herself thinking. _This could be my baby, with Woody's eyes and my smile. And I wouldn't mind that one bit._

She looked up at Garret with a smile. "Meet Emily Logan."

"Is this permanent?"

"No, if it was, I would have introduced her as Emily Hoyt," she answered, still smiling. She couldn't help it. The baby's smile was contagious. "Just out of curiosity, if it was?"

"Before your marriage, I couldn't picture you with a goldfish," Garret admitted.

"So I could have a goldfish now that I have a husband to take care of it?" she teased half-heartedly.

"That's not what I meant. Your marriage grounds you. You're more responsible, less reckless. You have something to go home to, and it shows. You're more confident. More patient. Whatever woke you up to this love and marriage, it's a good thing," Garret assured her.

She felt herself blush. "You don't think that I'll just go back to how I was after the novelty wears off?"

"No." The door opened, and a woman came in carrying a baby seat.

"Oh, can you hold on just a second?"

Jordan asked. Garret frowned, but the social worker smiled indulgently at Jordan. The door opened again, and Woody came in.

"Is this her?" he asked, smiling at Jordan, then the baby. She let him take the baby, watching her husband with a wistful smile.

"Yeah, shame we can't keep her, huh?" Jordan asked. "Me, I can't keep a plant alive."

"You'd be a wonderful mother, Jordan," Woody told her. He set the baby down in the carrier and pulled her close to him. "Are you sure you don't want to try and adopt her?"

"There's a list a mile long wanting her. She'll get a good home," Jordan shook her head. "Besides, I heard making them is the fun part."

Garret coughed. Woody gaped at her for a second before he shook his head. "I can't take you anywhere."

"But you _can_ take me home," she told him with a smile.

* * *

For hours that night, he just held her. She'd held herself together for the morgue crew, not wanting to break down or appear weak in front of anyone, so she made it through drinks at the Pogue and back to their place before she broke down.

It was more than just the bombing. It was everything she'd been through lately. Their marriage, discovering she had a brother, the baby case, and now the storm, Elaine dying... She was good, she was strong, but it was too much. And she hadn't been feeling well, either.

"I thought I hated her," she whispered. "I _wanted _to hate her. She was so cold, so unfeeling, so pushy... I know, I know, I'm pushy, but I still thought I was better than what she was. I just... I don't know, Woody. I'm so confused..."

"It's called grieving, Jordan," he explained needlessly. "What happened to Elaine was tragic. From what you've told me, she was amazing. The way she took care of Peter, the way she refused to leave him..."

"I know." She looked up into his eyes. "Elaine had a son. I didn't know until she was dead. Her son... died. And then I stood there, looking down at her, selfishly wondering what I would do if something happened to my kids...Would I snap? Would I give up, stop living? Focus my hopes on another child, scarring them for life?"

"You'd never give up. You'd fight every step. And while you'd never forget someone, you'd never force someone else to be them," Woody assured her, thinking about what Jordan had told him about James. And, Jordan, you'd have me. You'll always have me," he told her, kissing her neck.

She giggled, but it was short-lived. "Woody, you're a cop. You can't promise that you'll always be there."

"I can promise that I'll always love you. Never doubt that," he told her. He kissed her again and watched as she slowly fell asleep. There was nothing more beautiful than her, he thought as his own eyes closed.


	4. And So it Begins

**A Sort of Prologue**  
******Chapter Four: And So it Begins  
**Rating: PG (as of now)  
**Word Count:** 766  
**Disclaimer:** I own Crossing Jordan. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except my own insanity. I can't even claim to own DVDs for Crossing Jordan. Though I am hoping to soon.  
**Summary:** An glimpse of what could have been.  
**Pairing: **Woody/Jordan  
**Author's Note: **Ok, I know I (still) haven't updated Soulless. In my defense, this is an old story that was supposed to be more (could be more someday but don't hold your breath) that I've had sitting around and last night decided to clean up and post. This is just short and sweet (too sweet?) as it was just setting ground work for a massively involved AU/Crossover that I haven't started.

This is all of what I have so far. There are ideas for a lot more than this, but this is all I have written.

* * *

**And So it Begins**

The morgue was a good twenty degrees colder this week. It wasn't a malfunction of the refrigeration unit. Woody wasn't speaking to her. She hadn't been speaking to him for the first couple days, either. They'd had some smaller fights, stupid things that everyone fights about and gets over quickly, but this was the first major fight they had. They didn't speak during the day; any little thing could set them off again. They still slept in the same bed, but they faced away from each other. She missed his arms around her, missed their conversation.

Ironically, it was work coming between them. Woody had brought his case file home with him—his being home was rare enough, given the hours he'd put into the case and the time he'd spent unofficially looking into the disappearance of the daughter of one of their neighbors—and she'd pointed out a flaw in his theory. The man Woody thought was guilty was innocent, and it had taken two days to get him to see it. The woman who was really guilty had fooled him, flirted with him. Jordan had accused him of thinking with the wrong head, and he'd shouted right back that _she_ had no compunction of taking advantage of him in that state if it meant getting her way. He'd stayed out late looking for Brenda Tam that night, gotten home at two and was gone before Jordan left for work.

After four days, they'd both tried to apologize, but something had set them off again, and they left the apartment screaming at each other. Woody seemed to think it was her fault—he'd had the gall to suggest that she had PMS, said she'd been impossibly moody lately. It wasn't that time of the month.

That had come without her noticing, and she should have noticed because something was missing. Had been missing for three months. She took the lies and mistrust between them, it all came pouring out of her. The fight with Woody, her fears that she might be pregnant...

Her father hugged her tight. "Jordan, Woody loves you. I love you. And if there's a baby, we're all going to love it, too."

"Thanks, Dad," she said, fighting tears. "I think I have a test to take."

* * *

All the caffeine in the world could not keep Woody on his feet. He couldn't keep up this pace anymore. He needed to get his life back. No more overtime on cases, he'd closed three today and been forced to put two more in the cold case files. He'd turned everything he had on Brenda Tam's disappearance over to missing persons, letting them take over the investigation. He wasn't giving up on Brenda. He had made a promise to the Tams.

He had to make time to fix things with Jordan before things got worse. He'd cleared his desk and made himself quit his search early, before he felt ready to quit, trying to ignore the guilt he felt.

The morgue seemed colder, oppressive. Though he hadn't actually talked to anyone about his disagreement with Jordan, he felt like everyone had sided with her. He wasn't blameless, but neither was this entirely his fault.

He knocked on Jordan's door. "Go away, Peter! I'm not taking your shift!"

"That's good," Woody said, "because we need to talk."

Jordan snatched the door open. "Woody."

"Look, Jordan, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you about Peterson. I really thought he was guilty. It had nothing to do with his ex-wife or how she came onto me, I swear. And I'm sorry about what I said--about the whole--"

"Woody, I'm pregnant," Jordan said softly.

"--if you wanted to... What?" he asked, not sure he'd heard her right.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated. "You were right. I was moody, and I didn't even notice. I'm sorry that I was so disagreeable and--"

He didn't let her finish. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her. They hadn't planned on this, hadn't really discussed having children, but he couldn't consider this a mistake. They were unprepared, but they could make this work. He wanted to make this work.

Jordan pulled back. "Woody, are you sure? Do you really think we can do this? What if I--"

"Jordan, you are not your mother," he said firmly. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I love you. I know you'll be a wonderful mother. And we're going to do this. Together."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and led her out of her office. They were going home.


End file.
